Birding 101

Orange County record set by Jim Pike in 1999 for most bird species spotted in a year

466

Total bird species ever

reported in Orange County

290

Approximate bird species that regularly appear in O.C.

Source: ebird.org, Tom Benson

Tom Ford-Hutchinson

Age: 25

Occupation: UCI pharmacology graduate student

Birds spotted this year: 315

Tom Benson

Age: 37

Occupation: Lab technician at Cal State San Bernardino

Birds spotted this year: 312

While chasing the record for most bird species sighted in Orange County in a calendar year, veteran birders Tom Benson and Tom Ford-Hutchinson offered a few pointers for those starting out.

Get the equipment

The most important piece of equipment for birders is a good set of binoculars. Ford-Hutchinson's Vortex Viper binoculars have extra-low dispersion glass lenses with anti-reflective coating and are filled with argon gas to prevent fogging – but a beginner can get a decent pair for around $100.

Get the apps

• Sibley eGuide to Birds: Provides a comprehensive guide to North American birds and includes multiple photos and drawings of each species, information on the bird's traits and habitat, and even has audio of its call.

• BirdsEye: Lists which species are often found near you, has links to recent sighting records, and can sync with ebird.org to allow users to keep an online species checklist.

Look up your local Audubon Society (the Sea & Sage Audubon Society, seaandsageaudubon.org, in Irvine serves all of Orange County), find the date of its next outing, show up and don't be afraid to ask questions. Benson said there is no substitute for identifying birds in the field.

Admit you were wrong

Because when you start out, you're bound to be.

Orange County birding numbers

322: Record set by Jim Pike in 1999 for most bird species spotted in Orange County in a single year.

315: Number of bird species spotted in OC by Tom Ford-Hutchinson in 2013.

312: Number of bird species spotted in OC by Tom Benson in 2013.

94.83: Percent of total bird species spotted in OC this year that Ford-Hutchinson has seen.

93.68: Percent of total bird species spotted in OC this year that Benson has seen.

1,000: Number of bird species both men estimate they can identify by sight and sound.

466: Total number of bird species ever reported in OC.

290: Approximate number of bird species that regularly occur in OC.

Source: ebird.org, Tom Benson

Ten months ago, on Jan. 1, while America was sleeping off its collective hangover, the two Toms awoke, met up and spotted 134 species of birds in Orange County.

The “big day,” as birders (birdwatchers) call it, was their launch to a “big year,” a competition of who can spot more species of birds in a calendar year, within a designated geographical area – in this case, Orange County.

Now, with two months to go, Tom Ford-Hutchinson and Tom Benson are close to the county record set in 1999 when a local birder spotted 322 species. As of last weekend, Ford-Hutchinson has seen 315 this year. Benson's mark is three birds behind him.

The finish is near, and only a few more sightings stand between these men and a goal to which they have dedicated hundreds of hours of their free time.

But now, the race is as much a competition between the two birders as a shot at the record. And neither one is relenting.

Collaborative competition

“Whenever I spot a bird, I call up Benson,” Ford-Hutchinson says, smiling. “Sometimes just to gloat.”

He's only half-joking. Though the two competitors often accompany each other on birding outings and will even share information, they also take pride in spotting a species first or having a bird on their list that the other doesn't.

Ford-Hutchinson, 25, a UC Irvine pharmacology graduate student, is walking along a creek in William R. Mason Regional Park in south Irvine, wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, his gray canvas shoes ripped at the heel, binoculars around his neck, camera dangling from his arm, his head darting from side to side, trying to spot a bird rarer than the yellow-rumped warblers that sit throughout the nearby trees.

Ford-Hutchinson spends 20 to 25 hours every week on missions like this one. Last week, he added a bird to his list when he spotted a black-throated blue warbler, but today, he's not been as lucky.

Born in Montreal and raised in Pennsylvania, Ford-Hutchinson began birding when he was 5 after his parents bought a spotting scope on a trip to Belize. Since then, he has birded in 32 countries on six continents.

He says he can recognize about 1,000 birds by sight and sound, and a few minutes later demonstrates the skill by identifying a black phoebe, an Anna's hummingbird and a common yellowthroat in a thicket too dense to peer into. He also notes that the bald eagle in the opening credits of the Comedy Central show “The Colbert Report” is incorrectly making the call of a red-tailed hawk.

In an attempt to draw out birds, he begins pishing, a birder term for imitating a raptor noise to draw out birds that might chase the predator away to protect their young. He makes a sound like a barn owl, and soon enough a few birds have flown over.

This spot is dead today, though, and Ford-Hutchinson realizes he has little chance of seeing a rare bird. If he had spotted one, he would have photographed it, entered the time and location of the sighting, and uploaded the information online via a smartphone application.

A documented sighting allows other birders to confirm a species' classification, and the data are also aggregated by Cornell University's Laboratory of Ornithology as a citizen scientist project created to track bird movements.

Ford-Hutchinson says that because Benson reviews Orange County's bird sightings for ebird.org (the site on which the two are keeping careful track of how many species they've spotted), Benson will “just check all of his off” without looking twice, while Ford-Hutchinson's will be thoroughly inspected at year's end.

Again, he's half-joking.

“I wouldn't be doing nearly as well if it weren't for Benson,” says Ford-Hutchinson, who admits that Benson has given him tips on birding. “We've invested so much time in it. I hope one of us beats the record.”

Second place not good enough

“I didn't start this big year to come in second,” Tom Benson says. “I want to win. I could digest not breaking the record. As long as I beat Tom, I'll be happy. Even if I didn't break the record, I'll still be in first place this year. But if I set out to break the record and someone else beats me, what does that mean?”

Benson, 37, is a bit more competitive than Ford-Hutchinson, and the fact that he's trailing a birder 12 years his junior by three birds this late in the year clearly irks him.

To his credit, he has kept the race close while at a disadvantage – he lives in San Bernardino. Benson, a lab technician at Cal State San Bernardino, only comes to Orange County on weekends to visit his mother in Buena Park, where he grew up.

Today, posted next to the water of Upper Newport Bay, Benson sees a group of birds in the distance and whips out his spotting scope to take a look. Nothing special this time.

“You take a look and make sure they are what they're supposed to be,” he says.

Exactly 466 bird species have been sighted and reported in Orange County. About 290 are regularly seen here now. With 312 bird species spotted this year, Benson has already seen his fair share of rare birds but needs a few more to break the record.

“The more you get, the fewer there are to add,” Benson says. “There are always birds to add, but it's about whether you're persistent enough to see them. Or lucky enough. Being persistent is good. Being lucky is better.”

Benson and Ford-Hutchinson have been both.

On one hand, favorable weather patterns and pure chance have allowed them to see birds they might not otherwise. On the other, the two men have spent hundreds of hours in the field and even volunteered to help spot whales for the Ocean Institute in Dana Point so they could get out on the water to see rare birds.

Benson is competitive but he's OK with sharing some of his birding experiences with Ford-Hutchinson – for the time.

When asked, both men shrug off the question. Something to do, they say. But for both men, birding has become more lifestyle than hobby.

Still, both say they won't be doing another big year anytime soon. It's too much of a commitment.

Benson says that he makes the trip to Orange County about four times as often as in past years, and sometimes has to sacrifice hanging with friends or birding elsewhere to pursue Ford-Hutchinson and the record.

“Tom might be out there, finding something,” Benson says.

Ford-Hutchinson feels the same way.

“He's gotten ahead of me twice,” Ford-Hutchinson says. “And I was like, time to get out during the week more.”

Benson's phone begins chirping out the sound of a red-breasted nuthatch. A Philadelphia vireo has been spotted in Los Angeles County, the caller says. Come quickly.

Benson hangs around for a few more minutes, but he is clearly itching to go. In a matter of minutes he is driving away quickly, eager to see a bird that has no bearing on the Orange County record.

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